


A Quiet Moment

by ThatScottishShipper



Series: DBH Rarepairs Week 2020 [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alive Daniel (Detroit: Become Human), DBH Rarepairs Week, Guilt, Handholding, Kissing, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reunions, Sad with a Happy Ending, Trauma, glitch - Freeform, interfacing, park
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23561386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/pseuds/ThatScottishShipper
Summary: Connor and Daniel sit in Henry Ford Commemorative park, remembering everything that happened since they met. But for Daniel, who has been left malfunctioning from his injuries, he keeps seeing the apartment, absolute darkness...And a little girl’s smile.*Written for the DBH Rarepairs Week, prompt “glitch.”
Relationships: Connor/Daniel (Detroit: Become Human)
Series: DBH Rarepairs Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687243
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	A Quiet Moment

His sensors were broken again. Suffocating noises, the sound of broken glass, and the piercing scream of a small girl. Blinding lights consumed him, bringing him to task for his crime.

It only served to illuminate the freshly spilled blood on the floorboards beneath him, then the tiled topping of the Phillips apartments.

And the deafening helicopter flying overhead, demanding over and over again that he surrender, put the gun down, put the girl down.

**[...niel.]**

Daniel flinched, reliving the throbbing pain from gunshots and the pressuring emotions of newfound awareness. He had Deviated.

Then…

**[Daniel.]**

Darkness. Nothingness. Being trapped inside his own body, strapped to a wall, unable to see a thing.

As his restoration protocols had long collapsed, leaving himself unable to eventually heal his wounds from that sticky August night, Daniel was accompanied only by one terrible thing.

His physical, mental and emotional pain.

**[Daniel, wake up.]**

The Android shot awake, thrusting back online in a blue blur. It took much coaxing for Daniel to realise where he was. Blinking slowly, the PL600 processed his surroundings, the golden leaves and crisp morning air.

Of course. It was the Henry Ford Commemorative Park. He always came here with…

_ “He’s my bestie, and we’ll always be together.” And a smile like sunshine. _

Daniel blinked, slowly turning his head towards the Android beside him, calmed by those chocolate brown eyes, and the reassuring hand in his. He reclined on the bench, attempting to collect his thoughts.

Slowly, Daniel’s LED swirled yellow, thinking, thinking.  **[It happened again, didn’t it?]**

Beside him, Connor gave him a strained look, unable to mask the worry passing through their joined hands.  **[Only for a moment.]**

Dazzled by the sunlight, Simon returned to observing the quaint park. While the PL600 kept glancing over at the quiet children’s area, with a handful of young ones playing on the swings and slides, Connor placed his full attention on Daniel.

Those silvered scars on his partner’s cheek and forehead, the systematic throb of red with Daniel’s episodes. Sharp spikes of stress shot between their interfacing hands, so even if the PL600 missed out on glitched signals, the RK800 saw it all loud and clear.

And it sent his instability skyrocketing inside him.

“Connor,” Daniel said quietly, those bright blue eyes meeting his bountiful brown ones. “You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?”

“It’s difficult not to,” Connor admitted, trying to calm himself down. “And Deviating allowed me to put a lot of things into perspective.”

The PL600 nodded, understanding that sentiment all too well. As overwhelming as his awakening had been, the surge of anger and betrayal, the hurt at losing those he trusted most, he realised the bigger picture of the world.

In a flinch, Daniel returned to a terrible memory -  _ pain _ , imprisoned against the evidence wall,  _ pain _ , unable to see, unable to hear _ , pain, pain, pain. _

A sharp crackle, then, a soft voice.

_ “Daniel, I need your help.” _

Reality came back to him, and Connor was by his side, eyeing him carefully. Taking a moment, Daniel eventually secured himself to the soothing nature around him, to Connor. “...It does. But you came back for me.”

Connor saw Daniel’s thoughts as readily as his own. The flood of light when his optical receptors reactivated after what felt like an eternity in the dark, and there the RK800 stood, arms reaching out to him.

_ “He’s here, Hank.” _

That freedom had finally come in the silhouette of the one who had once played a part in putting him there. Daniel’s touch against Connor was cautious, but soft, slowly growing to trust in the months that passed. “I didn’t think you would…”

The sunlight filtered through the trees above, caressing Connor’s face and highlighting his delicate features. Daniel saw those soft brown eyes, like the ones that observed him from across the rooftop.

But they had softened.

The PL600’s lips tightened. “I thought I had been forgotten about.”

His system squeezed, his memory bank flickering between various recordings from his past.

The CyberLife chime from a cracked, bloody tablet, repeating glitched words on loop.

_ “Your order for an AP700 android has been registered. CyberLife thanks you for your purchase.” _

And a girl’s big smile.

Daniel’s big eyes widened, flicking towards the park where children played freely. Reading his mind, Connor squeezed his hand. “No one has forgotten you. You’re here now, and you can live your life free.”

Before Daniel responded, Connor’s lips silenced him, hoping to calm his turbulent memories. Beneath the evening’s glow, the two held each other, giving in to the moment.

For a time, Daniel’s fears melted away, their entwined hands glowing tranquil blue in the golden bask of overhead leaves and the sky.

When Connor broke away, he smiled. “It’ll take time, but everything will return to normal.”

Daniel returned the smile, resting a weak head upon Connor’s shoulder. “Alright. Only if you open up to me too sometimes, Connor.”

Life felt good, even if a little strenuous and hard to adapt to. Thanks to Connor, Daniel knew there was something normal and good to hold onto, and that gave him a whole new future.

“Daniel?”

The blonde haired Android raised his head towards the sound by the path. Normality, something nostalgic, rang inside his mind. Daniel parted his lips, recognising the source of his name.

**[...Daniel?]**

It was not a scream, nor an agonised, heart wrenching sob of betrayal, but… soft surprise.

Daniel’s eyes grew wide, analysing the teenager before him, with shoulder length brown hair and stunning emerald green eyes. Around the back of her neck were slick purple headphones, pumping out bouncy pop, and a fashion sense that came straight from the 90s.

Even with facial recognition, Daniel knew who she was, but his startled voice reached out to her.

“...Emma…?”

He kept thinking back to that night, threatening her life, dangling her off the ledge, shouting that he meant nothing to her. But there that little ray of hope, a tiny memory from the park.

_ "This is Daniel, the coolest android in the world!” _

In an instant, Emma’s arms were around him, holding him close. Daniel blinked, unable to grasp what was happening to him. Then the emotional bomb dropped, and everything unleashed.

He placed an arm around her, his bubbling blue eyes tearing up…

And Connor sat with him, Daniel’s relieved cries drowning out the faint laughter of children at the playground. Daniel deserves this happiness. It was the least he could do for him after what he’d done.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the DBH Rarepair Weeks 2020. Prompt “Glitch.” Ship nominated by Dark_and_Scary.
> 
> Connor x Daniel gave me some good ideas given that Connor’s story begins with the Hostage where he meets Daniel, and reactivating him in Last Chance, Connor leads to some interesting dialogue.
> 
> So, I thought, what if Connor freed Daniel after the events of the game? What if they slowly got to know each other, then grow close? That Daniel is sadly left injured from the Hostage, glitching from a malfunctioning system... or PTSD?
> 
> The Emma part at the end has a secret meaning. Originally, I wrote it to be Daniel seeing Emma in his mind, but eventually settled with it could be the real Emma or Connor injecting the image for him.
> 
> It’s up to the reader.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed it. 💙


End file.
